Critical Role’s Sam Riegel: Where You’ve Heard Him Before

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Oh hey, Sam Riegel, what’s up? Just being awesome? All right! When Sam isn’t serenading us with brilliantly improvised musical spells as Scanlan on Critical Role, he’s lending his voice to animated characters in cartoons and video games. Here are some favorite roles Sam wants to make sure you know about (some just might surprise you!).

Peter Parker/Spider-Man – The Amazing Spider-Man video games

Image credit: Activision

Sam voices the iconic Spider-Man in Beenox’s open-world action game, The Amazing Spider-Man. When a group of cross-species experimental monsters and a virus escape from Oscorp, it’s up to Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy to set things right. And really, with whom would you rather swing through the streets of New York City more than Sam?

Donatello – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Image credit: Fox

Sam played Donatello, everyone’s favorite staff-fighting, adorkable, super smart turtle on Fox’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series from 2003-2010. Donnie is the most peaceful of the brothers, preferring technology to ninja training. Who says a turtle can’t be multidimensional?

Starscream – Transformers: War for Cybertron and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron video games

Image credit: Activision

Starscream appears a couple of times in War For Cybertron. He is a playable Decepticon for one level, but a boss fight in another. Make up your mind, Starscream! He’s generally one of the bad guys, always looking for a way to overthrow Megatron and become leader of the Decepticons.

Emperor Awesome – Wander Over Yonder

Image credit: Disney

Disney’s Wander Over Yonder is a children’s television show that follows the intergalactic adventures of Wander and Sylvia. Emperor Awesome is a flamboyant, shark-headed ruler who wants to control the galaxy as much as the main villain, Lord Hater. It’s said that Emperor Awesome can destroy a planet just by partying. It may or may not also be Sam’s preferred method of being addressed by his peers.

Teddie – Persona 4

Image Credit: Atlus

If you can bear the puns (*waits for groans*) then you will pleasantly surprised that Sam voices the sweet and lovable Teddie in the Persona 4 video games and anime series. Teddie is a friendly face in the TV world who suffers a sort of existential crisis while trying to understand his own existence. It’s deep stuff for a cartoon bear.

HOLD IT! Sam voices the one lawyer in the world who actually has a reputation for being a good guy, Phoenix Wright. The Ace Attorney series is beloved for its intriguing murder mysteries and kooky characters. If you want to help Sam–I mean, Phoenix save the day, you can get Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies for the Nintendo 3DS and iOS devices.

This is only a scratch on the surface of Sam’s vocal career. He’s appeared in dozens of anime and video game titles including Yu-Gi-Oh, Naruto, Bleach, Batman: Arkham Knight, Resident Evil, and World of Warcraft. Plus, he also gets involved behind the scenes doing script adaptation, casting, and even directing his fellow voice actors.

We love Sam and his delightful personality. If you do too, be sure to tune into Critical Role, Thursdays at 7pm on Geek & Sundry’s Twitch channel or watch the recordings Mondays at Geek & Sundry!